Materials and Supply Chain Management

Course details

All around us the networking and inter-networking of the economy is taking place. Companies that do business together are linking up electronically. They are ‎doing this to better coordinate their actions and drive costs out of their business operations. Business in this emerging networked world is as much about ‎process as it is about product. This is because market forces, driven by the speed of communications that electronic networks now make possible, are ‎making product life cycles shorter and shorter. Customer tastes and requirements change quickly. Product inventories are always in danger of becoming ‎obsolete. To counter this trend, companies are building up their expertise and efficiencies in the process of designing and building new products and in the ‎process of delivering and servicing existing products. Companies that develop higher skill levels in these areas are clearly better able to ride the waves of ‎change and profit from developments in the markets they serve. 

The processes involved in the designing, building, and delivering of products to the customers' ‎that need them have come to be collectively referred to as supply chain management. Companies are defining the roles they want to play in the markets they ‎serve and linking up with other companies that have complementary skill sets. This dynamic is driving the formation of modern supply chains. With all these ‎factors in mind, aspiring professional entering the field of supply chain management or any of its affiliated functions and operations must develop their SCM ‎skills to the utmost level. Seeing the big picture is difficult when one, so close or immersed in the day-to-day operations. However, without the capability to get ‎back and develop such skill, the company may lose its competitive edge in the market.